Official Website
of
Judith Bixby Boling

The Story of

I’ve been living in two centuries since 2003 when my husband and I joined California Historical Artillery Society (CHAS). I spent the winter of 2003-2004 reading anything and everything I could find on civilian life during the American Civil War.

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Although I have written short stories for most of my life, I began writing about people of the nineteenth century in 2009. Since then, I have immersed myself in the era, spending countless hours researching various aspects of civilian and military life during the Civil War and Reconstruction. I love introducing the minute details of life in that era—mannerisms, books, railroad timetables, household furnishings, the type of carriages driven, as well as issues of the day—slavery, abolitionists, and women's’ rights,  to name a few.

While being transported to the past, I have a life that includes personal electronics, automobiles, and space exploration. I regularly cook in my microwave oven, but can also cook over a wood fire. I write a great deal using a laptop computer but derive great satisfaction from taking up a pen and putting it to paper.

While I am very comfortable wearing the seven layers of clothing worn in the mid-nineteenth century—including the corset—, I also love my Levis, t-shirts, and sneakers, and modern undergarments.

You could say I live in three centuries. In 2011, my husband and I bought a Craftsman bungalow that was built in 1921. My great-grandfather’s art deco dining set is right at home, as are my numerous kerosene lamps, and the various personal electronic devices we use regularly, including our iPhones. Perhaps there’s a story waiting to be written…